Tried 3 different chargers at an EA station and plug & charge all failed to activate. The screen just kept circling and timed out. I had to call EA support to manually activate the charging session over the phone. EA told me to contact PCNA afterwards because the issue is on its end. My car's free charging is valid on the Porsche app (and plug and charge "checked" on PCM obviously ) so I don't know why it failed. Has anyone experienced this before? How did you get PCNA to fix it? This is the second time it happened to me. Thanks.

 

you'll have to work with dealer service and Porsche customer support to diagnose why Plug&Charge is not working…while you do that you're not totally out of "luck" on accessing the included/free 30 minute session…

there are 3 ways to access the Prosche Charging service included/free 30 minute session (and start a charging session):

1. [Preferred] - Plug&Charge with a valid Porsche Charging Service contract - if you can get plug&charge to function
2. [Workdable] - Use the myPorsche app to start the charging session @ EA - this typically is faster/easier than option #3, but less ideal than option #1 - you can start charging sessions via myPorsche app with the map and "show chargers" option on the myPorsche map…
3. [Worse case scenario] - Call EA Customer support (which you've done)

good luck working with Porsche to get Plug&Charger operational - it sometimes takes them a while to work out issues like this…but in the mean time you can use option #2 as a back up - honestly sometimes the app is just fine and really isn't that much overhead when it's working…

if you activate an EA session any other way than the 3 methods listed above, the car will charge just fine, but it will be difficult/impossible to get Porsche/EA to reimburse you for the session - so if you want the included/free 30 minute session the 3 methods listed above are the only methods that will bill the session to the Porsche Charging service contract which is how you access the included/free 30 minute session.

in the photo below I've found/selected the EA station in Downtown Santa Cruz - you can see that 4/5 stalls are available, and if you tap on the EA station listed at the bottom off the screen you can "drill down" and start a charging session - this is typically faster/easier than waiting on hold w/Customer support - of course plug&charge is the ideal way to start a charging session, but not always possible - good luck YMMV!! screen shot is from the myPorsche app on iOS - should be similar/identical on Android!

being familar with this process is also how you can start charging sessions with other charging networks that Porsche has added to the "Porsche Charging Service" like ChargePoint network added last week…https://rennlist.com/forums/taycan/1...g-service.html - there is reasonable speculation that when Tesla/Porsche roll out North American Supercharger access the ChargePoint integration and using the myPorsche app to start charging sessions is how it will be done (apparently for example Volvo owners get all their Supercharger access via a ChargePoint billing service - we'll see how this plays out)…

 

Are you saying touch the white area of the screen at the bottom where the words "Electrify America" are? I think the "Send" button just sends the selected EA station address to the PCM for navigation.

Also for #2, should the EA plug be on the car or off when you activate the charging session using the Porsche app? When I called EA for #3, I was told to unplug first until the charger was activated over the phone and then reinsert.

Thanks.

Update: I figured out the app and managed to get to the "Start Charging" screen but it says $0.48 per kWh. Does the free charging still apply for #2?

 

yes the whole bottom in this mode is a button on screen - you simply tap the entire location button at the bottom of the screen and that will get you to the next step…here are the next 3 screens and eventually you get to a 'start charging" button - you can try it for yourself right now in your own app - you don't need to be anywhere near a charger or even driving your car …

Screen #2 shows up after tapping the "location" in the maps


"choose" the stall number next…


now you can click the "start charging sessions" button - and grab the cable and plug in…

 

Is it a new station? We had an EA station locally go online last year and it took a few months for Plug & Charge to work for me. Kept wanting me to pay when I plugged in.

 

No, old station. I went there again and plug & charge worked just fine.

 

So P&C was always a bit of a crap shoot for me but the last year or so it's been pretty reliable.

Just learn how to activate in the app in case you have a failure.

 

P&C worked without a glitch yesterday at the same station. Then another gremlin came up. I found out I was charged for the session (29 mins) on the Porsche app.

 

having started with Taycan in July of 2020 - my impression is that PCNA's North American EV charging game is weak sauce - there is just so much they simply don't get right or half ***…

I charge my eV's mostly at home overnight - so my use of public charging is limited to the few times a year road trips - so the probably don't harsh my buzz, but if you're using public charging frequently (I'm not sure that's the best way to own an EV, but to each their own) this stuff will grate on you…so far Porsche response to fixing these issues or improving reliability has been haphazard at best…YMMV

 

You are right I'm frustrated. This weak sauce PCNA public charging game left a sour taste in my mouth about owning an EV. That's why I won't even bother installing a 240V at home because I'm going back to ICE after this.

 

pitty - I love EV's for all the things other than tracking them (although they are super fun on track while they last, but lack stamina) - you'll spend less setting up an good home charging setup than you will on your 1st service for an ICE vehicle - but yeah to each their own - I don't need my street cars to be good on the track any more than I need a ski boat to be a good overnight ocean cruiser…

I simply can't go back to the maintenance tread mill on ICE vehicle's and the instant torque and smooth drive train wins for me with EV's vs. virtually any ICE alternative - I keep my 911's as recreational vehicles and leave the daily driving to the better suited tool - the EV.

but it's good to have choices.